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# Gothi

#### by Matt Thrower

The copyright of this article remains with the original author. Articles may be copied or distributed freely for personal non-profit use, provided that the author is properly credited.

#### Assumptions

This system will work however you want to treat the Norse `realm'. I suggest that you either assume it's a special subset of the magic realm, or that it's a new realm in its own right. If you assume the former to be true, then Gothi ought to be able to use raw vis just like Hermetic magi do, although how the vis or various Arts would translate into the ideas here is up to you.

### Gothi

`Order of Odin' is an epithet which has been made up entirely by magi of the Order of Hermes. The Viking wizards call themselves Gothi (Goe-th-ee). Gothi are priests of the Viking religion, and their magical powers come straight from the Norse gods themselves. All Viking wizards are Gothi, but not all Gothi have the ability to cast spells. They can all open a vey, however. The precise proportion of Gifted / non-Gifted Gothi is up to you, I would suggest about 20% / 80%.

#### Life of a Gothi

In stark contrast to the Order of Hermes, Gothi do not train apprentices. Since their Gift comes straight from the gods, they need to do very little training to use the magic powers, only instruction in the correct rituals to use (which they can get from books). They grow in power through practice, and through achieving the Viking ideal, not through study. As such, Gothi tend to have many more skills that Hermetic magi. Since the Viking ideal is basically struggle and war, Gothi tend to be very capable warriors as well as spellcasters. Gifted Gothi spend a lot of time away from mainstream society, casting runes and communing with the gods. However, they may be called on at any time by Viking peasants to officiate at religious ceremonies.

### Magical Skills

Treat these as Knowledges under the rules, rather as you would Certamen and Parma Magica:

1. Vey Opening
   Gothi can only use magic when standing inside a vey. A vey is a mystical connection to Valhalla, through which the gods can send their power. You can treat a vey as an aura (either magical or `Norse'), with a rating equal to the vey skill of the Gothi that opened it. Veys are a maximum of 10 yards square, and a minimum of half that size. Opening a vey is a ritual, during which the gothi walks round the area to be `opened' chanting the names of the Norse deities in turn. Anyone within the vey as it is opened can enter or leave it at will, but the Gothi who created the vey can deny anyone access. They may still enter the area, but all dice rolls made within the vey by such a person are at a penalty equal to the rating of the vey, no matter what power they are aligned to. Non-Gifted Gothi can open a vey with a rating of 0, which can still be used for religious purposes, or by a Gifted Gothi for spellcasting. A vey is fixed in place, and ceases to exist if the Gothi who created it moves outside its boundaries. It also ceases at dawn/dusk (whichever is sooner). A vey takes 10 minutes, +1 minute/level to open.

2. Runecasting
   Runes are mystical letters which represent magic. It should be noted that magic runes are different from the runic futhark writing of old Norse. Anyone who can read futhark will spot magic runes instantly, but the inexperienced often get the two confused. Also, any Gifted individual can identify mystical runes amongst normal futhark. Runes have 2 uses. First, they can hold magic power in an enchanted item, so this skill is added as a bonus when Gothis try to make magic items. Second, runestones can be used to predict the future. For this, runestones are cast upon the ground, frequently following a blood sacrifice (which may give a bonus to the roll). The SG then rolls (stress) against a basic difficulty of 16. Success indicates that the Gothi receives a cryptic vision on the topic of which she sought counsel. Failure means no vision. Botching means a misleading or dangerous vision is sent instead.

### Gothi Magic

Gothi have scores in only 3 Arts. These function exactly as Hermetic Arts do, but you will note that they cannot be increased through study. So, improving these Arts is a long, slow process. This is intended, as with only 3 Arts to practice, if a Gothi could study like a Hermetic mage, she would reach a staggering level of power in a very short time. Also note that Gothi cannot extend their lives like Hermetic magi can. The Arts are as follows:

- Aesir
  Connection to the gods. This functions like the Technique in Hermetic spells, and is added onto the score of the magic type (`Form' equivalent) when attempting to cast spells.
- Galdr
  Blessing magic. Galdr magic can affect elemental materials in any way the caster desires. It can also have beneficial effects on living things and on the human soul. For example, it can make someone ferocious in battle, heal wounds, summon ghosts and even restore the dead (although see limits, below). This is the most common type of magic practised by Gothis.
- Seidr
  Cursing magic. Seidr magic can only cause harm and distress to living things. For example, it can cause death, sickness, madness and misfortune to fall upon men, their livestock, or their animals. In order to practice Seidr magic, the practitioner must frequently indulge in grim practices. I leave this up to the imagination, but examples might include cannibalism, buggery, murder and other foul things. Gothi who use Seidr magic are thus usually shunned, except when they must officiate in religious rituals involving Seidr gods.

To cast a spell, the Gothi makes a roll just like a Hermetic mage, adding her Aesir score, plus `Form', plus Stamina, plus the level of the vey, plus a stress (always stress) die to overcome the level of the effect. Failure results in loss of a fatigue level, and no effect. A botch means the Gothi has incurred the wrath of the gods, to a degree determined by the botch roll. Effects of this would range from a short term loss (day/week) of magic power, to the wrath of Thor (thunderstorms) following the Gothi until she's struck down by lightning. Use your imagination!

It is worth noting that it is exceptionally rare for a Gothi to be skilled in both Geldr and Seidr magic, one or the other is more usual.

#### Limits

Gothi magic has none of the limits of Hermetic magic, since it is drawn from the power of the Norse gods, whom, the Gothi believe, created the Viking peoples. However, there is one very important stricture... Gothi magic cannot affect any place (and anything or anyone in that place) where the Viking gods are not worshipped. A Gothi could thus invoke a thunderstorm anywhere in Scandinavia or Iceland, but not in France. This means that Gothi cannot attack the Order of Hermes unless the Order of Hermes trespasses on Viking lands. This is one reason why the Order of Hermes is always pushing back the Gothi, rather than the other way around. It also means that as Christianity comes to the Viking lands, the power of the Gothi is dwindling. Although Gothi spells could restore the dead to life, or extend lifespan, in practice, this is rarely, if ever done. The reason is simple... a dead Viking or Gothi goes to the eternal paradise of Valhalla. To bring someone back from there, or to delay entry, would be an unimaginably terrible fate for that individual.

#### Spell Effects

The Gothi generate spell effects in accordance to invoking the powers of certain Viking gods. For example, to raise a thunderstorm, invoke Thor, to bolster a warriors courage, invoke Tyr, to infect someone with plague, invoke Hel. More on the deities below. Once a vey has been used to invoke a certain deity, it cannot be used to invoke a different one. Most spells involve drawn-out rituals to the god involved. Treat casting times just like Hermetic ritual magic, but no raw vis is needed. However, it should be noted that when assessing level effects, Gothi magic is far more potent than Hermetic magic. Creating a thunderstorm to totally devestate an acre of land might only be a level 35/40 effect. Causing someone's heart to stop would probably be about level 25. Remember that Gothi have no real equivalent to formulaic or spontaneous spells. The nearest they come to this is runic items, so they can pour all their magical energies into their ritual magic. Also remember that Gothi advance in magic power much slower than Hermetic magi. After casting a ritual spell, the Gothi must rest for a number of hours equal to the spell level, minus stamina.

### Deities

Here is a short list of some Norse deities. With each of them is a description of what type of magic they grant a Gothi (Galdr or Seidr) together with some of the effects a Gothi might achieve when invoking that deity. Note that to some extent, all the Norse gods were warrior gods, so things like weapon/armour blessings can be carried out in a vey dedicated to any Norse deity. This list of deities is by no means exhaustive. There are many more Norse gods whose names have been preserved, but whose function remains largely unknown. If you want to do some more research for yourself, go ahead.

- ODIN (Galdr and Seidr)
  Odin is the all father, creator of life, and can be invoked in the name of both healing and destruction of flesh. He is also a god of wisdom, and can be invoked for Intellego like effects, and also PeMe type spells. Odin is the chief war god, and weapon/warrior blessings (or curses) carried out in his name will be more effective than normal. Odin is master of both kinds of magic, and as such, he is the only god who may be invoked for either type of effect.
- THOR (Galdr)
  Thor is the god of thunder, and can reasonably be invoked to reproduce Auram like effects on a grand scale. He is also the protector, not from injury in battle, as that sends vikings to blessed Valhalla, but of the Viking way of life. Thus he could be invoked to protect crops, a sailing ship, or even to protect pagan Vikings from Christian missionaries.
- FREYA (Galdr)
  The goddess of fertility rounds off the central trinity of Viking gods (the others being Odin and Thor), these three being venerated above all others. Freya's blessing can bring fertility to people, crops and animals alike.
- BALDER (Galdr)
  Balder is the shining one, the Norse god of innocence and piety. Non-spellcasting veys are often created in his name. The magical effects he gives resemble InMe spells, determining the innocence and piety of a subject, or like ReMe, MuMe spells, to change the behaviour of criminals or other wrongdoers.
- NJORD (Galdr)
  Njord is a sea god, and can be invoked for spectacular Aquam effects, especially on saltwater. He is also a fire god, and can be invoked for Ignem effects.
- FREY (Galdr)
  Frey is the god of prosperity, joy and peace. In the former, Frey can be invoked to bring wealth to a family or an individual, in the latter, he can be invoked to bring happiness to pepole in the form of CrMe, MuMe type effects.
- TYR (Galdr)
  Tyr is a warrior god, and can be invoked to bless weapons and armour to great effect. He is also the god of courage, and his blessing can bring anything from removal of fear to berserk bloodlust onto a warrior.
- HEIMDAL (Galdr)
  Heimdal is the guard of bifrost, the bridge to Valhalla. His spells are used to create magical wards and guards, and to scry upon others.
- BRAGI (Galdr)
  As the god of poetry and eloquence, Bragi can be invoked to bring inspiration to artists.
- FORSETI (Galdr)
  Forseti is the god of justice and reconciliation. His powers are often called on during trials. They can function like InMe effects to determine the truth of what is being spoken. They can also see into the past, at higher levels of power.
- LOKI (Seidr)
  Loki is the god of mischief and misfortune. He can be called upon to bring down curses and bad luck on the targets of such spells. As the god of chaos, his curses can also be used to disrupt even the best-laid plans.
- HEL (Seidr)
  Hel is the goddess of sickness and death. Most of her spells duplicate PeCo effects, and her curses can also inflict diseases upon the unfortunate recipients of such spells.

Please note that, just like Hermetic ritual spells, Gothi spells are not instant, but far-reaching effects. For example, Thor could not be invoked to create a lightning bolt from the Gothi's hand to a target 20 yards away, but could call down a thunderstorm on a party of travelling magi 100 miles away (provided they were in pagan Viking lands). Within the one limit, spells ranges are almost infinite, the further away the target, the harder the spell level. By all means, make up some formulaic type spells for gothi to use... but remember that a Gothi can attempt pretty much anything if she wants to, and is willing to take the risks.

### Runic Items

The carving of runes onto items creates minor magical effects rather like spontaneous Hermetic magic. This includes the powering down of the effects from ritual level to spont/formulaic level. For example, a sword might have the following runes carved on it:

- Odin: keeps edge keen at all times
- Thor: allows the sword to generate small lightning bolts
- Tyr: allows the wielder to berserk for a short time.

The making of runic items can be considered to be similar to the creation of enchanted items by Hermetic magi, except for the following modifications:

- Only one season of work is needed.
- The item is non-permanent. Instead we have a new special duration relating to vows or Viking duties. The rune offers its powers as per Hermetic enchantments (using the table for frequency use adjustments), but runic items will only keep them as long as the legitimate holder doesn't fail in his duty. Having time limits for such duties could possibly offer a bonus on the Gothi's `lab total'.
- Runic effects are especially susceptible to auras other than `Norse' (or magical), which lessen not only their Penetration totals, but perhaps also negate their power altogether if their `power total' falls below the strength of the contrary aura. This means that when a Gothi creates a runic item he must decide not only the level requirement for the effect to work, but also, as an option, if he wants to raise this level in order to provide more protection when he takes the item to Christian lands, for example.

Use form and effect bonuses, and generate a vis and time cost in the same manner. However, vis can only be generated by Gothi in the form of human blood sacrifices. The amount of vis provided varies with the level of sacrifice. For example, the blood of a Viking king, nailed to an ash tree and pierced with a spear, as Odin was, might generate a rook's worth. A thrall might generate 1 pawn. Human sacrifice is a very serious business indeed amongst the vikings, so the making of runic items is not something to be undertaken lightly. Thus items are not made without very good reason.

Most Gothi keep at least on runic item with them, to help defend themselves if caught outside a vey. It is usually in the form of a staff or sword. Occasionally, a powerful warlord might be given such an item, if they aspired to the true Viking ideal. The continued functioning of such items is, however, at the whim of the gods.

Finally, remember that Gothi are supposed to live as paragons of the pagan Viking ideals of warrior-like self-reliance, and that failure to do so can lead to loss of power. The magical power of a Gothi, granted by the gods, should never be taken for granted.